TheStreet:
Stock futures are mixed, a day after optimism over a U.S. recovery drove the S&P 500 to a fifth straight day of gains; the Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting; AMD unveils ‘Milan’ chip; Nokia to cut 10,000 jobs.
Here are five things you must know for Tuesday, March 16:
1. — Stock Futures Are Mixed After S&P 500’s Fifth Day of Gains
Stock futures traded mixed Tuesday after optimism over a U.S. recovery drove the S&P 500 to a fifth straight day of gains and as investors turned their gaze to the Federal Reserve for the central bank’s projections on the economy.
Contracts linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68 points, S&P 500 futures slipped 2 points and futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq were up 51 points. Apple (AAPL) – Get Report and Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Report were rising modestly in premarket trading.
The Dow and S&P 500 finished at record highs Monday led by technology shares. The Dow rose for a seventh straight session. The Nasdaq rose 1.05%.
Investors have been keeping a close eye on rising Treasury yields with many believing inflation will move higher following the signing of a new $1.9 trillion stimulus bill. The 10-year Treasury traded at 1.597% early Tuesday.
Is It Time to Buy Bonds Amid Rising Rates?
Fears of rising inflation likely will be on the minds of investors when the Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has said inflation likely will riseas the economy recovers but thinks it will be temporary.
Powell is expected by economists to indicate the Fed will tolerate higher inflation to get the U.S. back to full employment.
Peter Tchir, a Real Money contributor, said investors should prepare their portfolios for higher yields.
2. — Tuesday’s Calendar: Retail Sales and CrowdStrike Earnings
The U.S. economic calendar for Tuesday includes Retail Sales for February at 8:30 a.m. ET, Import and Export Prices for February at 8:30 a.m., Industrial Production for February at 9:15 a.m., and the start of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve.
The Fed will announce its decision on interest rates Wednesday afternoon. Since it has pledged to keep rates near zero until at least the end of 2023, the focus will be on Jerome Powell’s press conference.
Earnings reports are expected Tuesday from Lennar (LEN) – Get Report, CrowdStrike (CRWD) – Get Report, Jabil (JBL) – Get Report, Designer Brands (DBI) – Get Report, Eastman Kodak (KODK) – Get Report, Smartsheet (SMAR) – Get Report and Coupa Software (COUP) – Get Report.
3. — AMD Unveils Third-Generation ‘Milan’ Chip
TheStreet’s Jim Cramer celebrated the 16th anniversary of “Mad Money” on Monday and during the show checked in with Lisa Su, president and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) – Get Report, following the company’s introduction of its latest generation of high-performance processors.
Su said the company’s third generation chips – code-named Milan – have doubled the performance of their closest rival. She said computing has moved to the data center and everyone from researchers to corporations want the best performance they can get.
Su noted that AMD has been working on its high-performance roadmap for five years.
AMD’s CEO also told Cramer the company was seeing enormous demand for all of its processors, even amid a global semiconductor shortage.
AMD Is a Stock to Buy on the Dip – Here’s Why
AMD shares rose 1.25% to $83.53 in premarket trading Tuesday.
AMD is a holding in Jim Cramer’s Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells the stock? Learn more now.
4. — Nokia to Cut 10,000 Jobs
Nokia (NOK) – Get Report, the Finnish telecommunications equipment maker, said it would cut 10,000 jobs as part of a move to lower costs.
In a statement Tuesday, Nokia said it aims to trim costs by around €600 million ($716 million) over the next couple of years.
Nokia said its outlook for 2021 hasn’t changed.
Nokia could reduce the size of workforce over the next two years to 80,000-85,000 from the 90,000 workers it employs today.
The company said plans by Nokia’s business groups to “reset their cost bases” include investments “in R&D and future capabilities including 5G, cloud and digital infrastructure, as well as other areas that will benefit Nokia in the long-term.”
American depositary receipts of Nokia rose 0.23% in premarket trading Tuesday.
5. — NHTSA to Investigate ‘Violent’ Tesla Crash
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has begun investigating a crash in Detroit last week involving a Tesla (TSLA) – Get Report and a tractor trailer.
The NHTSA said in a statement it was “aware of the violent crash that occurred on March 11 in Detroit involving a Tesla and a tractor trailer. We have launched a Special Crash Investigation team to investigate the crash.”
Two people were critically injured in the crash.
The crash circumstances are similar to two others in Florida in which Tesla vehicles drove beneath tractor trailers, causing two deaths, the Associated Press reported. In both crashes, in 2016 and 2019, the cars were being driven while using Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving software.
Detroit Police Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood couldn’t say if the Tesla driver was using the company’s Autopilot or “full self-driving” software. “It’s still under investigation,” she said.
The AP was unable to obtain comment from Tesla late Monday, but did note the company previously has said that Autopilot and “full self-driving” are driver-assistance systems and that the driver must be ready to intervene at all times.
